Savage Tales (1st Series)

Following the successful debut of Conan the Barbarian in its color comics line the year before, Marvel attempted to move to the less-restricted, non-Comic Code arena of the black and white magazine format in 1971. Rated “M For The Mature Reader!” the stories presented here contained slightly more daring themes and partial nudity. The lead feature was a Conan story; “The Frost Giant’s Daughter” adapted by Roy Thomas and illustrated by Barry Smith. Additional features included the first appearance of The Man-Thing and a more brutal, Ka-Zar.

Poor distribution led to the title‘s cancellation after one issue. The magazine was revived in 1973, this time with more success. In 1974, Ka-Zar became the lead feature with Conan headlining a new title, The Savage Sword of Conan. “The Frost Giant’s Daughter” was colored to make some nude scenes appropriate for the color comic and saw print in Conan the Barbarian #16.